McKay Hallow Madness - 25km mountain trail race

Ah, the McKay Hallow Madness.  A fabulous trail race held toward the end of March each year at Mont Sano State Park in Huntsville, AL. Since I just discovered the trail race in the past 18 months I don't have a great deal by which to compare, but suffice it to say this is one of the most physically demanding trails you'll run.  If my reading of the finish board was correct, only 75-80% of those of us who started the run actually finished.  Mont Sano is at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. The lowest elevation of the race was 500' and the highest was almost 1700'.  There were points at which we were climbing under and over or squeezing between giant

limestone boulders. There were also places where we were going along a ledge that was no more than 18" wide and it was a long way down.  It had rained hard the night before the race so there was plenty of mud.  Likewise the streams were swollen and at least two were difficult to cross because of the steep drop, depth and swiftness of the water.  Most of the trails were like the picture above - a lot of large rocks. You had to watch carefully where you put your foot.  I always run trails with my Lexi trail poles. They were extremely valuable on this run.
    When I got to the 10 mile check-point I was 90 minutes ahead of the cut-off. That isn't great, but I was very happy with it.  I wasn't prepared for what was to follow.  The trail ahead was blocked from view of the check-point by a large park sign and a thick stand of bushes. When I headed down the trail I suddenly emerged under a canopy of trees that was so heavy that there was no undergrowth. It was wide open and beautiful. The trail dropped steeply for 500'.  Obviously we did a zig-zag run, but this was the only place of the entire 16+ miles that we had a beautiful packed earth trail.  We were able to fly down the mountain. My Garmin showed an 8:30 minute mile. At the bottom of this drop there was a short up-hill run and then another 500' drop. It was glorious. I remember thinking that I might actually make up some time. Then we hit the bottom . . . . MUD. For over a mile the trail was a thick, deep muddy mess. I tried to get out and run along beside the trail but the undergrowth was again thick and my legs were quickly a bloody mess.  In the end, the marvelous run down the mountain from mile 10 check-point probably did gain me some time, but I ended up losing all of it and more in the mud.
     From mile 14-15 we went up 700'. The race ended with the better part of a mile where much of your time was spent climbing (and I do mean climbing) out of the deep ravine and crossing a beautiful waterfall a few tenths of a mile from the finish line.
    If you love trail races, and if you love a good challenge, don't look for one of those mud runs with the man-made obstacles.  If you are truly looking for a challenging trail, go natural and do the McKay Hallow Madness next March.  There are no medals, no trophies, no division places . . . . Just your name on the finisher's board and going home with a great sense of accomplishment. It was worth it!

Share your race experiences and tell me about great races you've run (and perhaps there are some to avoid).